(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a joined article made of an aluminum nitride member and a ceramic member, a joined article made of such an aluminum nitride member and a metallic member, a producing process thereof, and a corrosion-resistive joining material.
(2) Related Art Statement
Heretofore, joined articles made of aluminum nitride members and ceramic members as well as joined articles made of aluminum nitride members and metallic members have been constructed in various manners, and used in various applications. For example, in case of ceramic heaters, electrostatic chucks, high frequency electrodes, etc. used in semiconductor-producing apparatuses, aluminum nitride members vs. various ceramic members, aluminum nitride members vs. metallic fittings for thermocouple sets, aluminum nitride members vs. electrodes, etc. need to be joined to each other.
Having noted a brazing process among various joining processes, the present inventors tried to join an aluminum nitride member to a ceramic member or such an aluminum member to a metallic member through a brazing material arranged therebetween by heating such a brazing material. However, the inventors discovered that while most of the brazing materials were satisfactorily joined to the metals it is difficult to wet the aluminum nitride member, so that the brazing material was not satisfactorily joined to the aluminum nitride member or a very small gap was formed therebetween to reduce joining strength. Further, when such a joined article is arranged in the semiconductor-producing apparatus, the joined article including the aluminum nitride member is required to be arranged in and exposed to an atmosphere of a halogen-based corrosive gas, particularly containing plasma. However, the inventors discovered that in such a use, the corrosive atmosphere entered the joined interface through the brazed portion so that the joined layer was deteriorated to consequently reduce the joining strength of the aluminum nitride joined article.